Uncle_Max
01-21-08, 10:40 AM
Facebook snooping nets second athlete
Published: Sunday, January 13, 2008
By Molly Walsh
Free Press Staff Writer
South Burlington school officials have, for the second time in less than 12 months, disciplined a high-school athlete for violating rules against possession of alcohol after an incriminating photo of the student appeared on the Internet social networking site Facebook.
School resource officer Cpl. Tonya Lawyer says another officer from the South Burlington Police Department gave her a copy of a Facebook photo showing a student-athlete apparently in possession of alcohol. She passed on the photo to school administrators, who investigated the matter and determined that the student, an ice hockey player, had violated training rules against substance possession. The student, whom school officials declined to identify, was recently benched for several weeks.
The latest Internet sleuthing in South Burlington follows a Facebook photo controversy last year.
Members of the varsity girls lacrosse team and other students were disciplined by school officials and slapped with civil tickets and criminal citations for underage possession of alcohol after they attended an off-campus party in June. No school officials or police were at the party.
Lawyer, who works at the high school full-time, pursued both school sanctions and legal action after she was tipped off to the scores of Facebook photos showing lacrosse team members, many still in uniform, posing with beer and hard alcohol containers at the party. After conferring with the Chittenden County State's Attorney, she issued 18 civil tickets, four criminal citations and two juvenile petitions to students on and off the team.
Most of the students chose not to contest the allegations and were allowed to go through court diversion, which typically entails community service, a modest fine and anti-alcohol/drug education. Students who complete diversion have no record, even in traffic court, where first- and second-offense underage drinking charges are typically filed in Vermont.
At least one student did contest the ticket. Malinda M. Wisell, who graduated from South Burlington High School in June, just a few days after the party, challenged the possession allegation at a Dec. 12 hearing before Judge Rita Villa at the Vermont Judicial Bureau. She lost and was ordered to pay a $330 ticket for possession of alcohol as a minor.
Wisell did not return messages left on her cell phone.
Lawyer, who testified at the Dec. 12 hearing, said a Facebook photo of Wisell holding an alcohol container was entered into evidence. Wisell also testified, Lawyer said. She argued that there was no way of knowing that there was alcohol in the can. The judge did not buy that argument, Lawyer said. "The judge's contention was, you're in possession of a can of beer and it's kind of a no-brainer that there's beer in the can."
The "totality" of the circumstances convinced the judge that the defendant was in possession of alcohol, Lawyer added.
Common sense plays a much greater role in the justice system than many people might think and it's not surprising that the student who contested the ticket lost her case, said Michael Mello, a professor at Vermont Law School. "I'm not surprised that the judge let the photographs come into evidence and I'm not surprised, sort of given the state of the evidence as we understand it, that the judge found her guilty."
Common practice
The use of Facebook photos in high school and college underage drinking investigations is becoming more common across the country.
This month in Minnesota, administrators at Eden Prairie High School reprimanded more than 100 students and suspended some from extracurricular activities after viewing and printing Facebook photos of students at parties holding beer cans, shot glasses and bottles of alcohol.
Two years ago, a dorm resident at North Carolina State University alerted campus officials to students partying in Facebook photos and at least 15 students faced disciplinary action for underage drinking.
Many students are outraged that Facebook photos meant only for their friends' eyes are winding up on the desks of principals and campus police chiefs. School officials and police often aren't sympathetic to this complaint. They say students are mistaken if they think anything that they put up on the Internet is private.
Lawyer's advice to teens who want privacy is simple: Don't post your pictures on the Internet. "It's public domain," she said. "What's the first three letters of the thing? W, w, w -- World Wide Web."
Lawyer says she does not have time to spend hours on Facebook snooping for trouble. She does check out South Burlington student Facebook pages periodically, particularly if she gets a tip about a brewing fight, keg party or bullying.
She creates Facebook accounts with a pseudonym and waits to be invited into a network of South Burlington students with linked Facebook pages. It usually doesn't take long. Other police officers also check social networking sites, she said.
"We go on, we make up fake IDs, fake names, and we hope to get invited in. ... Once I've linked myself to one South Burlington kid, I can usually get linked to other South Burlington kids."
South Burlington High School Principal Patrick Burke said administrators don't have time to comb through Facebook pages, but when information lands in their laps, they can't just ignore it.
"You're going to put a picture in front of me and say, 'Look -- here's somebody that's supposed to not be doing this.' I'm not going to look the other way. It's right in front of you," Burke said.
The school, like most high schools, requires participants in extracurricular activities such as sports and theater to sign a form at the beginning of the season promising not to use substances or tobacco. High schools have differing consequences.
At South Burlington, a first offense brings consequences including a limited suspension from team play. Punishments increase for repeat offenders.
Facebook provides administrators with information on possible violations, but most information comes from other sources, Burke said -- a phone call from a parent; a student stopping into the office; a teacher passing along a hallway rumor. Most students want administrators to follow up on possible infractions, Burke said.
"We're happy to intervene and try to get the kids some support and implement the policy, as the kids really expect us to," he said. "It sounds odd. But when we have information, the kids really expect us to follow through on the policy."
Contact Molly Walsh at 660-1874 or mwalsh@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
SOURCE: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080113/NEWS02/801130322/1007/NEWS02
I thought I'd share this after reading this post (http://www.noobsters.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34119) (http://www.noobsters.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34119) by Pooka. I continually find it hilarious that 1. people take cameras to these parties, and 2. that people haven't learned the whole "hand behind the back" move, rather than triumphantly lifting the bottles to their mouths.
Published: Sunday, January 13, 2008
By Molly Walsh
Free Press Staff Writer
South Burlington school officials have, for the second time in less than 12 months, disciplined a high-school athlete for violating rules against possession of alcohol after an incriminating photo of the student appeared on the Internet social networking site Facebook.
School resource officer Cpl. Tonya Lawyer says another officer from the South Burlington Police Department gave her a copy of a Facebook photo showing a student-athlete apparently in possession of alcohol. She passed on the photo to school administrators, who investigated the matter and determined that the student, an ice hockey player, had violated training rules against substance possession. The student, whom school officials declined to identify, was recently benched for several weeks.
The latest Internet sleuthing in South Burlington follows a Facebook photo controversy last year.
Members of the varsity girls lacrosse team and other students were disciplined by school officials and slapped with civil tickets and criminal citations for underage possession of alcohol after they attended an off-campus party in June. No school officials or police were at the party.
Lawyer, who works at the high school full-time, pursued both school sanctions and legal action after she was tipped off to the scores of Facebook photos showing lacrosse team members, many still in uniform, posing with beer and hard alcohol containers at the party. After conferring with the Chittenden County State's Attorney, she issued 18 civil tickets, four criminal citations and two juvenile petitions to students on and off the team.
Most of the students chose not to contest the allegations and were allowed to go through court diversion, which typically entails community service, a modest fine and anti-alcohol/drug education. Students who complete diversion have no record, even in traffic court, where first- and second-offense underage drinking charges are typically filed in Vermont.
At least one student did contest the ticket. Malinda M. Wisell, who graduated from South Burlington High School in June, just a few days after the party, challenged the possession allegation at a Dec. 12 hearing before Judge Rita Villa at the Vermont Judicial Bureau. She lost and was ordered to pay a $330 ticket for possession of alcohol as a minor.
Wisell did not return messages left on her cell phone.
Lawyer, who testified at the Dec. 12 hearing, said a Facebook photo of Wisell holding an alcohol container was entered into evidence. Wisell also testified, Lawyer said. She argued that there was no way of knowing that there was alcohol in the can. The judge did not buy that argument, Lawyer said. "The judge's contention was, you're in possession of a can of beer and it's kind of a no-brainer that there's beer in the can."
The "totality" of the circumstances convinced the judge that the defendant was in possession of alcohol, Lawyer added.
Common sense plays a much greater role in the justice system than many people might think and it's not surprising that the student who contested the ticket lost her case, said Michael Mello, a professor at Vermont Law School. "I'm not surprised that the judge let the photographs come into evidence and I'm not surprised, sort of given the state of the evidence as we understand it, that the judge found her guilty."
Common practice
The use of Facebook photos in high school and college underage drinking investigations is becoming more common across the country.
This month in Minnesota, administrators at Eden Prairie High School reprimanded more than 100 students and suspended some from extracurricular activities after viewing and printing Facebook photos of students at parties holding beer cans, shot glasses and bottles of alcohol.
Two years ago, a dorm resident at North Carolina State University alerted campus officials to students partying in Facebook photos and at least 15 students faced disciplinary action for underage drinking.
Many students are outraged that Facebook photos meant only for their friends' eyes are winding up on the desks of principals and campus police chiefs. School officials and police often aren't sympathetic to this complaint. They say students are mistaken if they think anything that they put up on the Internet is private.
Lawyer's advice to teens who want privacy is simple: Don't post your pictures on the Internet. "It's public domain," she said. "What's the first three letters of the thing? W, w, w -- World Wide Web."
Lawyer says she does not have time to spend hours on Facebook snooping for trouble. She does check out South Burlington student Facebook pages periodically, particularly if she gets a tip about a brewing fight, keg party or bullying.
She creates Facebook accounts with a pseudonym and waits to be invited into a network of South Burlington students with linked Facebook pages. It usually doesn't take long. Other police officers also check social networking sites, she said.
"We go on, we make up fake IDs, fake names, and we hope to get invited in. ... Once I've linked myself to one South Burlington kid, I can usually get linked to other South Burlington kids."
South Burlington High School Principal Patrick Burke said administrators don't have time to comb through Facebook pages, but when information lands in their laps, they can't just ignore it.
"You're going to put a picture in front of me and say, 'Look -- here's somebody that's supposed to not be doing this.' I'm not going to look the other way. It's right in front of you," Burke said.
The school, like most high schools, requires participants in extracurricular activities such as sports and theater to sign a form at the beginning of the season promising not to use substances or tobacco. High schools have differing consequences.
At South Burlington, a first offense brings consequences including a limited suspension from team play. Punishments increase for repeat offenders.
Facebook provides administrators with information on possible violations, but most information comes from other sources, Burke said -- a phone call from a parent; a student stopping into the office; a teacher passing along a hallway rumor. Most students want administrators to follow up on possible infractions, Burke said.
"We're happy to intervene and try to get the kids some support and implement the policy, as the kids really expect us to," he said. "It sounds odd. But when we have information, the kids really expect us to follow through on the policy."
Contact Molly Walsh at 660-1874 or mwalsh@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
SOURCE: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080113/NEWS02/801130322/1007/NEWS02
I thought I'd share this after reading this post (http://www.noobsters.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34119) (http://www.noobsters.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34119) by Pooka. I continually find it hilarious that 1. people take cameras to these parties, and 2. that people haven't learned the whole "hand behind the back" move, rather than triumphantly lifting the bottles to their mouths.